DOCSLIB.ORG

Wage Garnishment Protections of the Consumer Credit Protection Act

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Wage Garnishment Protections of the Consumer Credit Protection Act Chapter 16 WAGE GARNISHMENT PROTECTIONS OF THE CONSUMER CREDIT PROTECTION ACT Source: FOH Revision 769, published 01/19/2021. Substantive revisions made after 01/19/2021 are noted at the end of affected provisions below. Table of Contents 16a GENERAL 16a00 CCPA’s wage garnishment protections generally. 16a01 WHD’s enforcement authority; references to CCPA. 16a02 Coverage. 16a03 Exempt states. 16a04 Meaning of garnishment. 16a05 CCPA is self-executing. 16a06 Tips, gratuities, and service charges. 16a07 Federal employees. 16a08 Employees of states or their political subdivisions. 16a09 Earnings deposited in a bank account. 16a10 Sick and vacation pay. 16a11 Disability payments from employment-based disability plans. 16a12 Health savings account (HSA) contributions by employers. 16b GARNISHMENT LIMITS 16b00 Limits on garnishment by type of debt. 16b01 Earnings and disposable earnings. 16b02 Deductions. 16b03 Disposable earnings in partial workweeks. 16b04 Applying garnishment limits to disposable earnings. 16b05 Employer attorney fees and consumer debt garnishment limits. 16b06 Creditor attorney fees and consumer debt garnishment limits. 16b07 Attorney fees and family support garnishment limits. 16b08 Service charges permitted under state law. 16b09 Excess garnishment. 16b10 Draws against commission. 16b11 Limits apply separately to each employer. 16b12 No limits beyond family support garnishment limits. 16b13 Limits applied to family support and property settlement agreements. 16b14 Bankruptcy. 16c PROTECTION AGAINST TERMINATION OF EMPLOYMENT 16c00 Employees whose earnings are subject to garnishment. 16c01 Protection against termination applies to all garnishments. 16c02 Administrative garnishments (recovery of non-tax debts owed to the federal government). 16c03 One indebtedness. 16c04 Protection extends to suspensions, demotions, and transfers. 16c05 Protection does not apply to filing for bankruptcy. 16c06 Legal remedies. 16c07 Prohibition against using garnishment for a single debt as a factor in termination. 16a GENERAL 16a00 CCPA’s wage garnishment protections generally. Portions of the Consumer Credit Protection Act (CCPA) limit the amount of an individual’s earnings that may be garnished and protects an employee from being terminated if pay is garnished for any single debt. WHD’s basic interpretations of the CCPA are found in 29 CFR part 870. References: 15 U.S.C. 1671-1677 29 CFR 870 16a01 WHD’s enforcement authority; references to CCPA. (a) WHD has the authority to enforce only the CCPA’s wage garnishment protections. It has no other authority with regard to garnishments themselves. Questions over issues other than the amount being garnished under the CCPA or terminations due to a garnishment should be referred to the court or agency initiating the withholding action. (b) For ease of use, “CCPA” as used in this chapter refers only to the wage garnishment portions of the CCPA. References: 15 U.S.C. 1673, 1674, 1676 29 CFR 870.1 16a02 Coverage. (a) Coverage is general. There are no specific exemptions for government employees at the federal, state, or local levels or their political subdivisions. (b) The CCPA applies wherever federal and state courts have jurisdiction. “State” includes Puerto Rico, the District of Columbia, and U.S. territories and possessions. Reference: 15 U.S.C. 1671, et. seq. 16a03 Exempt states. The Secretary of Labor has authority to exempt garnishments issued under state law from the CCPA’s limits on amounts that may be garnished. The list of exempt states, along with the terms and conditions of the exemptions, is in 29 CFR 870. Currently, the only state with such an exemption is Virginia. References: 15 U.S.C. 1675 29 CFR 870.50–57 16a04 Meaning of garnishment. (a) Definition of “garnishment.” A garnishment under the CCPA is “any legal or equitable procedure through which the earnings of any individual are required to be withheld for payment of any debt.” Generally, this refers to a court proceeding. References: 15 U.S.C. 1672(c) WHD Opinion Letter CCPA-13 (June 15, 1970) WHD Opinion Letter CCPA-6 (May 18, 1970) (b) Wage attachments. Wage attachments are garnishments. A wage attachment for state, local, municipal, or federal taxes is a legal procedure within the meaning of garnishment under the CCPA. This is the case even though there may be no actual court proceeding involved in the tax lien or levy. The CCPA’s protection against termination applies to such attachments for tax debts. However, the CCPA’s limits on amounts that may be garnished do not apply. References: 15 U.S.C. 1672–1674 WHD Opinion Letter CCPA-27 (Sept. 14, 1970) (c) Administrative garnishments. Administrative garnishments are garnishments for purposes of the CCPA. For private sector employees, an administrative garnishment is an amount of money withheld from an employee’s earnings for the payment of a non-tax debt owed the federal government. For federal employees, these types of garnishments are called salary offsets. As used in this chapter, the term “administrative garnishment” includes salary offsets. Usually, these garnishments are instituted for the repayment of loans. (1) Administrative garnishments are authorized by and subject to the terms of the Debt Collection Improvement Act (DCIA), 31 U.S.C. 3720D. For federal employees the terms are set at 5 U.S.C. 5514. These laws generally limit the amount to be garnished to 15 percent of disposable earnings. (2) As of December 20, 2018, the Higher Education Act (HEA) authorizes federal agencies or collection agencies under contract with the federal government to garnish up to 15 percent of disposable earnings to repay defaulted student loans. (3) WHD has no enforcement authority over the amount of withholding in an administrative garnishment if the withholding does not violate the CCPA. Questions concerning the amount of withholdings should be referred to the agency initiating the withholding action. (4) When an individual agrees in writing to allow withholding of an amount greater than the DCIA or HEA limits, the deductions are wage assignments. References: 5 U.S.C. 5514 31 U.S.C. 3720D (d) Wage assignments. A wage assignment is not a garnishment and is not subject to the CCPA. A wage assignment is a voluntary transfer of the right to receive wages. It is ordinarily a private transaction accomplished through a contract and without a court order. For example, an employee may agree that their employer may turn over some specified amount of their earnings to a creditor or creditors. References: WHD Opinion Letter CCPA-66 (Mar. 16, 1976) 16a05 CCPA is self-executing. The CCPA protects public rights. Unlike state garnishment laws that are framed as exemptions designed solely to protect of individual rights, the CCPA prohibits courts from making, executing, or enforcing orders or processes that violate its terms. Thus, individuals cannot waive the CCPA’s protections and do not have to raise the CCPA for its protections to apply. References: 15 U.S.C. 1673(c) WHD Opinion Letter CCPA-36 (Oct. 21, 1970) 16a06 Tips, gratuities, and service charges. (a) For employees who receive tips, the cash wages paid directly by the employer and the amount of any tip credit claimed by the employer under federal or state law are earnings for CCPA purposes. Tips received in excess of the tip credit amount or in excess of the wages paid directly by the employer (if no tip credit is claimed or allowed) are not earnings for CCPA purposes. (b) Payments to employees from service or gratuity charges an employer adds to a customer’s bill are earnings under the CCPA when paid to the employee. Scenario: A restaurant employer is under a court order to garnish wages from a server. The employer charges all customers an additional 15 percent for table services and pays those amounts to its servers. Those amounts are not tips from customers directly to servers. The employer must treat the payment as earnings under the CCPA. References: 15 U.S.C. 1672 WHD Opinion Letter CCPA-43 (Dec. 9, 1970) 16a07 Federal employees. Federal employees’ wages may be garnished under the CCPA in the same manner and to the same extent as employees in the private sector. Reference: 15 U.S.C. 1672 16a08 Employees of states or their political subdivisions. State or local laws regulate whether the earnings of a city, county, or state employee are subject to garnishment. To the extent that state or local law permits garnishment, the CCPA applies. However, WHD has no authority to enforce state or local garnishment laws. Reference: 15 U.S.C. 1676 16a09 Earnings deposited in a bank account. The CCPA’s limits on amounts that may be garnished do not apply to an employee’s bank account composed of earnings already received by the employee. A bank served with a garnishment order directed at a depositor’s account is not required to determine the depositor’s protections under the CCPA before following the garnishment order. Reference: WHD Opinion Letter CCPA2005-1 (Jul 27, 2005) 16a10 Sick and vacation pay. Sick and vacation pay are compensation for personal services and are earnings under the CCPA. Reference: WHD Opinion Letter CCPA-62 (Feb. 1, 1973) 16a11 Disability payments from employment-based disability plans. Disability payments from an employment-based disability plan constitute compensation for personal services and are earnings under the CCPA. Reference: Field Assistance Bulletin No. 2016-3 16a12 Health savings account (HSA) contributions by employers. Generally, as long as an employer does not determine its HSA contributions on the basis of the amount or value of individual employees’ services and does not give employees an option of receiving cash in lieu of an employer’s contribution, the employer’s contributions to an HSA are not earnings. Therefore, an employer should not include its HSA contributions when calculating an employee’s disposable earnings for purposes of applying the CCPA’s garnishment limits.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • DC Wage Garnishment
    DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA OFFICIAL CODE 2001 EDITION DIVISION II. JUDICIARY AND JUDICIAL PROCEDURE TITLE 16. PARTICULAR ACTIONS, PROCEEDINGS AND MATTERS. CHAPTER 5. ATTACHMENT AND GARNISHMENT. SUBCHAPTER III. ATTACHMENT AND GARNISHMENT OF WAGES, ETC. § 16-571. Definitions. For purposes of this subchapter – (1) The term “wages” means compensation paid or payable for personal services whether denominated as wages, salary, commission, bonus, or otherwise, and includes periodic payments pursuant to a pension or retirement program. (2) The term “disposable wages” means that part of the earnings of any individual remain- ing after the deduction from those earnings of any amounts required by law to be withheld. (3) The term “garnishment” means any legal or equitable procedure through which the wages of any individual are required to be withheld for payment of any debt. § 16-572. Attachment of wages; percentage limitations; priority of attachments. Notwithstanding any other provision of subchapter II of this chapter, where an attachment is levied upon wages due a judgment debtor from an employer-garnishee, the attachment shall become a lien and a continuing levy upon the gross wages due or to become due to the judgment debtor for the amount specified in the attachment to the extent of: (1) 25 per centum of his disposable wages that week, or (2) the amount by which his disposable wages for that week exceed thirty times the federal minimum hourly wage prescribed by section 6(a)(1) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 206) in effect at the time the wages are payable, whichever is less.
    [Show full text]
  • Consumer Credit Counseling
    CENTRAL VIRGINIA LEGAL AID SOCIETY, INC. 1000 Preston Ave, Suite B 101 W Broad, Ste 101 2006 Wakefield Street Charlottesville, VA 22903 Richmond, VA 23241 Petersburg, VA 23805 434-296-8851 (Voice) 804-648-1012 (Voice) 804-862-1100 (Voice) 434-296-5731 (Fax) 804-649-8794 (Fax) 804-861-4311 (Fax) Consumer Credit Counseling You may have bills and debts you can’t pay. You are not alone. Many agencies try to help people get out of debt. These are called “credit counseling agencies” or “debt counseling agencies.” You should be very careful about consumer credit counseling. Many agencies do more harm than good. What services does a credit counseling agency offer? Credit counseling usually offers three services. • Budget counseling to help you pay your debts on your own. • A debt management plan, or debt repayment plan, run by the agency. • Referral to other agencies, such as social, financial and legal services. What is a debt management plan? In this plan, the agency arranges lower payments with your creditors. Usually these are your credit cards. Your payments are lower because your creditors agree on lower interest rates. When all the creditors who are in your plan agree, you make one monthly payment to the agency. The agency uses that money to make your lower payments to your creditors. When should I think about a debt management plan? You should think about a plan if two things are true. (1) You can’t pay all your bills and debts, and can’t keep current on all your accounts. (2) You have income or property you could lose to a creditor.
    [Show full text]
  • 36670 Federal Register / Vol
    36670 Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 117 / Wednesday, June 17, 2020 / Rules and Regulations DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For been in 7 CFR part 792. In addition, information, contact Iris Roseboro; regulations in 7 CFR parts 1951 and Office of the Secretary telephone: (202) 720–6257; email: 1956 have been used by FSA in the [email protected]. Persons with settlement and adjustments of FSA farm 7 CFR Part 3 disabilities who require alternative loans made under the Consolidated means for communication should Farm and Rural Development Act Federal Crop Insurance Corporation contact the USDA Target Center at (202) (ConAct) and debts related to those 720–2600 (voice). loans. This rule removes 7 CFR part 792 7 CFR Part 400 SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: and 7 CFR part 1951, subpart C. Since 7 CFR part 1956 is also used by the Background Farm Service Agency Rural Development of USDA (RD), those The regulations in 7 CFR part 3 (part regulations are not deleted but are 7 CFR Parts 761, 765, 766, 772, and 792 3) specify the general regulations amended to state affirmatively that they applicable to debt collection activities of do not apply to loans made by FSA and Commodity Credit Corporation USDA agencies and specify the amount debts relating to such loans. In those of civil penalties that USDA agencies limited instances where provisions of 7 7 CFR Part 1403 levy as authorized by law. Federal CFR parts 792, 1951, and 1956 will agencies are required by several laws to continue to be used because of their Farm Service Agency collect debts owed to the United States, specific application to FSA debts, the principally DCIA.
    [Show full text]
  • Deposits — Garnishment of Accounts Containing Federal Benefit Payments
    VI. Deposits — Garnishment of Accounts Containing Federal Benefit Payments 3 Garnishment of Accounts Containing agency. If so, the financial institution follows its customary Federal Benefit Payments procedures for handling the order since Federal benefit payments can generally be accessed or garnished by such Introduction agencies. Many consumers receive Federal benefit payments that are If the garnishment order was not obtained by the United States protected under Federal law from being accessed or or issued by a State child support enforcement agency, the “garnished” by creditors, other than the United States financial institution must follow the interagency regulation to government and certain State agencies, through a garnishment protect Federal benefit payments directly deposited into a order or similar written instruction issued by a court. Despite consumer’s account during a two-month “lookback” period. these protections, developments in debt collection practices The interagency regulation contains provisions on the timing and technology, including the direct deposit of benefits, have of an account review, the determination of the protected led to an increase in the freezing of accounts containing amount, notice to the account holder (including a model form) Federal benefit payments by financial institutions that receive regarding the garnishment order, and record retention. In a garnishment order. As a result, the Department of the addition, the interagency regulation allows a financial Treasury (Fiscal Service), the Social Security
    [Show full text]
  • The New American Debtors' Prisons
    The New American Debtors' Prisons The Harvard community has made this article openly available. Please share how this access benefits you. Your story matters Citation Christopher D. Hampson, The New American Debtors' Prisons (Harvard Law School 2015 Stephen L. Werner Prize: Criminal Justice, Aug. 4, 2015). Citable link http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:17840773 Terms of Use This article was downloaded from Harvard University’s DASH repository, and is made available under the terms and conditions applicable to Other Posted Material, as set forth at http:// nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:dash.current.terms-of- use#LAA DRAFT — DO NOT CITE OR CIRCULATE THE NEW AMERICAN DEBTORS’ PRISONS Christopher D. Hampson* Debtors’ prisons are back, in the form of imprisonment for nonpayment of criminal fines, fees, and costs. While the new debtors’ prisons are not historically or doctrinally continuous with the old, recent developments in criminal law suggest that some parts of them offend the same functional and moral principles that compelled the abolition of the old debtors’ prisons. Legal actors may therefore plausibly interpret the constitutional and statutory texts that abolished the old debtors’ prisons to constitute checks on the new — or a new abolitionist movement might deploy new constitutional texts. While the criminal law literature is starting to grapple with the question of debtors’ prisons, this piece engages with the metaphor head-on and asks how the old ban on debtors’ prisons should be reinterpreted for a new era of mass incarceration. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................ 2 I. IMPRISONMENT FOR DEBT IN 2015 ......................................................... 8 II. DEBTORS’ PRISONS, OLD AND NEW ....................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Collecting Criminal Justice Debt Through the State Civil Justice System a Primer for Advocates and Policymakers
    CRIMINAL JUSTICE DEBT AS A CIVIL JUDGMENT COLLECTING CRIMINAL JUSTICE DEBT THROUGH THE STATE CIVIL JUSTICE SYSTEM A PRIMER FOR ADVOCATES AND POLICYMAKERS By Carolyn Carter, Ariel Nelson, and Abby Shafroth National Consumer Law Center® May 2021 © Copyright 2021, National Consumer Law Center, Inc. All rights reserved. ABOUT THE AUTHORS Carolyn Carter is deputy director of the National Consumer Law Center and has specialized in consumer law issues for over 30 years. She is co- author or contributing author of NCLC legal treatises Collection Actions, Consumer Credit Regulation, Truth in Lending, Unfair and Deceptive Acts and Practices, and Fair Debt Collection. Previously, she worked for the Legal Aid Society of Cleveland, as a staff attorney and as law reform director; and was co-director of a legal services program in Pennsylvania. She has served as a member of the Federal Reserve Board’s Consumer ABOUT THE NATIONAL Advisory Council. Carolyn is a graduate of Brown University and Yale CONSUMER LAW CENTER Law School and is admitted to the Pennsylvania bar. Ariel Nelson is a staff attorney at the National Consumer Law Center Since 1969, the nonprofit focusing on criminal justice debt and credit and background reporting National Consumer Law Center® issues. She is the author of NCLC’s report Broken Records Redux: (NCLC®) has used its expertise How Errors by Criminal Background Check Companies Continue to Harm Consumers Seeking Jobs and Housing; a co-author of NCLC’s in consumer law and energy Commercialized (In)Justice Litigation Guide: Applying Consumer Laws policy to work for consumer to Commercial Bail, Prison Retail, and Private Debt Collection; and justice and economic security a contributing author to NCLC’s Fair Credit Reporting and Collection Actions treatises.
    [Show full text]
  • Virginia Department of Labor and Industry Division of Labor and Employment Law
    VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF LABOR AND INDUSTRY DIVISION OF LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT LAW FIELD OPERATIONS MANUAL CHAPTER SEVEN GARNISHMENT This document is part of the latest version of the Virginia Department of Labor and Industry Division of Labor and Employment Law’s Field Operations Manual. This document supersedes any and all previous editions. Revised July 2009 VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF LABOR AND INDUSTRY DIVISION OF LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT LAW FIELD OPERATIONS MANUAL DISCLAIMER The Field Operations Manual (FOM) is an operations manual that provides the Division of Labor and Employment Law investigators and staff with interpretations of statutory provisions, procedures for conducting investigations, and general administrative guidance. The FOM was developed by the Labor and Employment Law Division under the general authority to administer laws that the agency is charged with enforcing. The FOM reflects policies established through changes in legislation, regulations, court decisions, and the decisions and opinions of the Virginia Department of Labor and Industry. Further, the FOM is not used as a device for establishing interpretative policy. The Virginia Department of Labor and Industry (DOLI) is providing the information in this manual as a public service. This information and other related materials are presented to provide public access to information regarding DOLI programs. It is important to note that there will often be a delay between the official publication of the materials and the modification of these pages. Therefore, no express or implied guarantees are indicated. The Virginia Regulatory Town Hall remains the official resource for regulatory information published by the DOLI. Every effort will be made to address all errors brought to the attention of the Labor and Employment Law Division staff.
    [Show full text]
  • The Military Lending Act Five Years Later
    The Military Lending Act Five Years Later Impact On Servicemembers, the High-Cost Small Dollar Loan Market, and the Campaign against Predatory Lending Jean Ann Fox Director of Financial Services Consumer Federation of America May 29, 2012 1 Table of Contents Introduction ………………………………………………………………………3 I. Creditors and Consumer Credit Covered by MLA Rules…………………...5 II. Executive Summary: Findings and Recommendations…………………….9 III. Servicemembers Still Need Protection from Abusive Credit Products………………………………………………………………………14 IV. History of the Military Lending Act and DoD Regulations………………18 V. Impact of MLA on Covered Consumer Credit……………………………..21 VI. Maps Illustrate Impact of Military Lending Act at Selected Bases……...31 VII. Bank Payday Loans Not Covered by MLA Rules………………………..49 VIII. No Impact on Military Installment Loans……………………………….61 IX. No Impact on State Regulation of Lending to Non-resident Borrowers…………………………………………………………………….73 X. No Impact on Retail Installment Sales Credit or Rent-to-Own…………...76 XI. Enforcement Tools for Military Lending Act Must be Strengthened……81 XII. No Impact of Military Lending Act Allotment Protections……………...94 XIII. Impact of MLA on Advocacy to Protect all Americans……………….102 XIV. Access to Relief Society Assistance and Better Financial Options……104 2 The Military Lending Act Five Years Later Impact On Servicemembers, the High-Cost Small Dollar Loan Market, and the Campaign against Predatory Lending by Jean Ann Fox Consumer Federation of America May 29, 2012 Five years ago the Department of Defense
    [Show full text]
  • PROF.4 05/11/17 Page 2
    A SFMS Desk Manual R*STARS: PROF. 4 Revised: 05/11/2017 GARNISHMENTS, LEVIES, AND OTHER CONTRACTUAL OR LEGAL CONVEYANCE OF MONIES When a claim is made on a vendor's payment, the agency is required to respond in accordance with applicable state and federal laws and regulations. The agency should determine whether the claim is a bank assignment, support order, tax levy, or other type of garnishment. Claims should be reviewed for their accuracy and validity. It is in the agency's best interest to act quickly on the claim and to be thoroughly familiar with applicable state and federal laws and regulations. Before a request to activate a mail code for a garnishment is processed, the initiating agency must provide a copy of the legal authorization for the garnishment to the SFMS Central Vendor Desk. TYPES OF CLAIMS WRIT OF GARNISHMENT, DISTRAINT WARRANTS, AND WRIT OF EXECUTION The Federal Garnishment laws and rules define garnishment as any legal or equitable procedure through which the earnings or property of a party are required to be withheld for payment of a debt. INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE (IRS) NOTICE OF TAX LEVY A taxpayer who owes back federal taxes may have property seized for unpaid taxes. The agency will receive notice of a tax levy from the IRS. The levy continues in effect until the taxpayer's liability is satisfied or becomes unenforceable and the IRS issues a release. Again, agencies should be familiar with applicable state and federal laws and regulations so as not to confuse a notice of tax levy with 1099 backup withholding.
    [Show full text]
  • Payday Loans: Shrewd Business Or Predatory Lending? Creola Johnson
    University of Minnesota Law School Scholarship Repository Minnesota Law Review 2002 Payday Loans: Shrewd Business or Predatory Lending? Creola Johnson Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarship.law.umn.edu/mlr Part of the Law Commons Recommended Citation Johnson, Creola, "Payday Loans: Shrewd Business or Predatory Lending?" (2002). Minnesota Law Review. 744. https://scholarship.law.umn.edu/mlr/744 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the University of Minnesota Law School. It has been accepted for inclusion in Minnesota Law Review collection by an authorized administrator of the Scholarship Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Payday Loans: Shrewd Business or Predatory Lending? Creola Johnsont I. The Nature of Payday Lending .......................................... 8 A. What Are Payday Loans and Who Uses Them? . 9 B. Payday Loans: Ordinary Check-Cashing Services or Lending M oney? ................................ ......................... 12 1. Payday Loans Are Covered by the Truth in Lending Act ........................................................... 13 2. Disguising Payday Loans Through Sham Transactions ........................................................... 18 II. Criticisms of the Payday Loan Industry .......................... 25 A. Unfair and Unlawful Practices Before or At Contract Form ation ................................................... 26 1. The Cost of Payday Lending: Triple-Digit Interest Rates ........................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Chapter 6 – Civil Case Procedures
    GENERAL DISTRICT COURT MANUAL CIVIL CASE PROCEDURES Page 6-1 Chapter 6 – Civil Case Procedures Introduction Civil cases are brought to enforce, redress, or protect the private rights of an individual, organization or government entity. The remedies available in a civil action include the recovery of money damages and the issuance of a court order requiring a party to the suit to complete an agreement or to refrain from some activity. The party who initiates the suit is the “plaintiff,” and the party against whom the suit is brought is the “defendant.” In civil cases, the plaintiff must prove his case by “a preponderance of the evidence.” Any person who is a plaintiff in a civil action in a court of the Commonwealth and a resident of the Commonwealth or a defendant in a civil action in a court of the Commonwealth, and who is on account of his poverty unable to pay fees or costs, may be allowed by the court to sue or defendant a suit therein without paying fees and costs. The person may file the DC-409, PETITION FOR PROCEEDING IN CIVIL CASE WITHOUT PAYMENT OF FEES OR COSTS . In determining a person’s ability to pay fees or costs on account of his/her poverty, the court shall consider whether such person is current recipient of a state and federally funded public assistance program for the indigent or is represented by legal aid society, including an attorney appearing as counsel, pro bono or assigned or referred by legal aid society. If so, such person shall be presumed unable to pay such fees and costs.
    [Show full text]
  • Exhibit 23 P
    Villalba et al. v. ITT ESI et al. (In re ITT ESI, No. 16-07207-JMC-7A) Exhibit 23 p. 1 EXHIBIT 23 1. ████████████(ID 5814), Alabama-Bessemer, Digital Entertainment and Game Design, 1/2003-1/2007: “The first year that I was married and my wife and I were filing jointly we were happy with the return that we were going to get only to find that Sallie Mae took the refund as a payment on my loans that I could not otherwise pay. I have been served with wage garnishment papers only to force myself and my wife to file for bankruptcy in order to forego the garnishment and try to get our finances in order and ultimately fail.” 2. █████████████████ (ID 9348), Alabama-Bessemer, Criminal Justice, 9/2010-9/2012: “I was never notified about it being time to start paying my loans. My loans were put in default even though I never knew how to pay them or ever got a notification of when it was time to start paying the. Now I am a single mother struggling to get by, getting further into debt due to the negligence of this school. My garnishes are being waived and my taxes are being taken. I am forced to live with my parents due to not having enough money for my son and myself to live on our own. This debt has been so unbelievably hard to overcome and I yet I'll owe $15,000+. If I would have known then what I know now I would have never attended this school.
    [Show full text]